BASF Invests in Plastics Chemical Recycling Specialist

Global chemical company BASF announced an investment in Oslo, Norway-based Quantafuel, which specializes in pyrolysis of mixed plastic waste and purification of pyrolysis oil.

The partnership aims to further develop Quantafuel’s technology for chemical recycling, and Quantafuel plans to license the jointly developed technology to other parties, BIC Magazine reports.

In the fourth quarter of 2019, Quantafuel intends to start a pyrolysis and purification plant in Skive, Denmark, with a capacity of roughly 16,000 tons per year. BASF, which will have access to all pyrolysis oil and purified hydrocarbons from this plant, will use secondary raw materials in its ChemCycling project to develop the market for chemically recycled plastics with selected customers.

BASF is to invest in Quantafuel, a specialist for pyrolysis of mixed plastic waste and purification of pyrolysis oil, headquartered in Oslo, Norway. The investment will be facilitated via the subscription of new shares and via the grant of a convertible loan. Together, the partners aim to further develop Quantafuel’s technology for chemical recycling, consisting of an integrated process of pyrolysis and purification, towards optimizing the output for the use as feedstock in chemical production. In a second step, Quantafuel also plans to license the jointly developed technology to other parties.

Quantafuel plans to start up a pyrolysis and purification plant with a nameplate capacity of approximately 16,000 tons per year in Skive, Denmark in the fourth quarter of 2019. As part of the investment agreement, for a minimum of 4 years after the start-up of production of Quantafuel’s Skive plant, BASF will have a right of first refusal to all pyrolysis oil and purified hydrocarbons from this plant. BASF will use these secondary raw materials in its ChemCycling project to develop the market for chemically recycled plastics with selected customers.